Making lifestyle changes and incorporating
these tips into your daily routine can increase your metabolism.
Metabolism is a term that describes all the chemical reactions
in your body.
These chemical reactions
keep your body alive and functioning.
However, the word
metabolism is often used interchangeably with metabolic rate or the number of
calories you burn.
The higher it is, the
more calories you burn and the easier it will be to lose weight and maintain
weight.
A high metabolism can
also give you energy and make you feel better.
Here are 9 easy ways to
increase your metabolism.
1. Eat plenty of protein at each meal
Eating can increase your
metabolism in a matter of hours.
This is known as the
thermal effect of food (tef). It is caused by the extra calories needed to
digest, absorb, and process nutrients in a meal.
Proteins cause the
maximum rise in TEF. It increases your metabolic rate by 15-30%, while
carbohydrates by 5-10% and fat by 0-3% (1).
eating protein has also
been shown to help you feel fuller and prevent you from overeating (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
A small study found that
when protein makes up 30% of their diet, people may consume about 441 fewer
calories per day (9).
Eating more protein can
also reduce the metabolic decline that is usually associated with fat loss.
this is because it can reduce muscle loss, which is a common side effect of
dieting (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).
Summary: eating
more protein can boost metabolism, which burns more calories. It can also help
you eat less.
2. Drink plenty of cold water
people who drank water
instead of sugary drinks were more successful at losing weight and maintaining
weight (16, 17, 18, 19, 20).
This is because sugary
drinks contain calories, so replacing them with water will automatically reduce
your calorie intake.
However, drinking water
may also temporarily speed up your metabolism (18, 21).
Studies have shown that
drinking 17 ounces (0.5 liters) of water can increase resting metabolism by
10-30% for about an hour (22, 23).
This calorie burning
effect may be even greater if you drink cold water, as your body uses energy to
heat it to body temperature (21, 24).
Water can also help you
fill your stomach. Studies have shown that drinking water half an hour before
meals can help you eat less (25, 26, 27).
A study of overweight
adults found that people who drank half a liter of water before meals lost 44%
less weight than those who didn't (19).
Summary: water
can help you lose weight and maintain your weight. It will increase your
metabolism and help you fill your stomach before meals.
3. Do high-intensity exercise
High-intensity interval
training (hiit) involves rapid and very intense bursts of activity.
It can help you burn
more fat by boosting your metabolic rate, even after your workout is over (28, 29, 30, 31).
This effect of HIIT is
considered greater than other types of exercise. What's more, HIIT has also
been shown to help you burn fat (32, 33, 34).
A study of overweight
young men found that 12 weeks of high-intensity exercise reduced fat by 4.4
pounds (2 kg) and belly fat by 17 percent (35).
Summary: mixing
your workout routine and adding some high-intensity workouts can boost your
metabolism and help you burn fat.
4. Lifting weights
Muscle is more
metabolically active than fat, and muscle gain helps to increase metabolism (36, 37, 38, 39).
This means you'll burn
more calories per day, even at rest (40).
weight lifting can also
help you preserve muscle and combat metabolic declines that can occur during
weight loss (41, 42, 43, 44).
In one study, 48
overweight women consumed 800 calories a day without exercise, aerobic
exercise, or resistance training. （45）。
After dieting, women who
underwent resistance training maintained muscle mass, metabolism, and strength.
Others lost weight, but muscle mass declined and metabolism declined (45).
You can find the right
weight for your workout online.
Summary: weight
lifting is important for building and maintaining muscle. More muscle will lead
to a higher metabolism.
5. Stand up more
Sedentary is not good
for health (46).
Some health commentators
even refer to it as "new smoking." this is partly because sitting for
long periods of time burns fewer calories and can lead to weight gain (47).
In fact, an afternoon of
standing work can burn an additional 174 calories (48) compared to sitting.
If you have a desk job,
try standing for short periods of time to reduce the amount of time you spend
sitting. You can also invest in a standing desk (49, 50, 51, 52).
You can find standing
desk kits and settings online.
Summary: sedentary
burns very few calories and is not good for your health. Try standing up
regularly or invest in a standing desk.
6. Drink green tea or oolong tea
Green tea and oolong tea
have been shown to increase metabolism by 4-5% (53, 54, 55).
These teas help convert
some of the fat stored in the body into free fatty acids, which may increase
fat burning by 10-17% (56).
Because of their low
calorie content, drinking these teas may be good for both weight loss and
weight maintenance (57, 58, 59).
It is thought that their
metabolism-boosting properties may help prevent the terrible period of weight
loss plateau that arises due to a decline in metabolism.
However, some studies
have found that these teas do not affect metabolism. Therefore, their impact
may be minimal or only available to certain people (60, 61).
You can find green tea
and oolong tea online.
Summary: drinking
green tea or oolong tea may increase your metabolism. These teas can also help
you lose weight and maintain your weight.
7. Eat spicy food
Chili peppers contain
capsaicin, a substance that can promote metabolism (62, 63, 64).
However, many people
cannot tolerate the doses that these spices require to achieve a pronounced
effect (65).
A study of acceptable
doses of capsaicin predicted that eating chili peppers burned an additional 10
calories per meal. For more than 6.5 years, this can result in an average
weight loss of 1 pound (0.5 kg) for men with an average weight (66).
The effect of adding
spices to food alone can be minimal. However, when combined with other
strategies to boost metabolism, it may provide a slight advantage (67).
Summary: eating
spicy foods may help boost metabolism and help you maintain a healthy weight.
8. Get a good night's sleep
Lack of sleep is
associated with a significant increased risk of obesity (68, 69).
This
may be due in part to the negative effects of sleep deprivation on metabolism (70).
Sleep deprivation has
also been linked to elevated blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, both of
which are associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. （70, 71, 72, 73）。
It has also been shown
to increase hunger hormone ghrp and lower satiety hormone leptin (74, 75, 76).
This could explain why
many sleep-deprived people feel hungry and have difficulty losing weight.
Summary: sleep
deprivation reduces the number of calories you burn, changes the way you
process sugar and disrupts your appetite-regulating hormones.
9. Drink coffee
Studies have shown that
caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 3-11%. Like green tea, it also
promotes fat burning (77, 78, 79).
However, this seems to
have a greater impact on thin people. In one study, coffee increased fat
burning in lean women by 29 percent, but obese women increased it by only 10
percent (80 percent).
The effects of coffee on
metabolism and fat burning may also help with successful weight loss and weight
maintenance (77, 81).
Summary: drinking
coffee can significantly boost your metabolism and help you lose weight.
Conclusion
Making lifestyle changes
and incorporating these tips into your daily routine can increase your
metabolism.
A higher metabolism can
help you lose weight and maintain weight while also giving you more energy.